fitz gerald



(No Model.)

' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. F. FITZ GERALD.v GLASS CLEANING MAGHINE.

No. 392,600. Patented Nov. 13, 1888;

3 Sheets-Sheet 2..

(No Model.)

A. F. PITZ GERALD. GLASS CLEANING MAGHINE.

Patented Nov. 13, 1888.v

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WITNESSES:

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3'. A. P. FITZ GERALD.-

GLASS CLEANING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 13, 1888,.

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(N0 Mod l) ITED STATES ATENT Orrica.

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOB TO THE VAN DEBVEER & HOLMES BISCUIT COMPANY, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

GLASS-CLEANING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,600,1'iated November 13, 1888.

A pplication filed December 28, 1887. Serial No. $159,273.

To all whom it 12mg concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in GlassOleaning Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof.

My invention relates to a machine for cleaning plates of glass or similar material; and its object is to enable such plates to be cleaned from oil, dirt, and other foreign substances, and prepared for use in a convenient, quick, and economical manner.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine with one end of the box or frame broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the rollers and buffers between which the plates of glass are passed. Fig. 3 is an elevation View of the end of the machine at which the glass is fed to the machine. Fig. 4. is a sectional view of one of the buffers, showing its construction and taken through and parallel with its axis. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View of one of the rings or disks of buffing material of which the buffers are made; and Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section of the machine, taken through the axes of the rear rollers.

Similar letters refer to si milar parts throughout the several views.

.The frame of my improved machine consists of the sides L L, the table Land its supporting-bracket K, the sliding end piece, M, which is adapted to be removed to clean the machine or for any other purpose, and which has the slot 112, through which the plates are fed to the rollers, and the fixed end piece, 0. These parts may be made of any suitable material, such as wood or iron.

A B are cleaning-buffers, which are adapted to revolve in contact with the surfaces of the plates to be cleaned. These buffers consist of a central shaft, 1, surrounded by the rings of buffing material t, the whole suitably mounted in the sides L L of the machine.

8 s are collars adapted to press against the rings of buffing material and hold them in place.

'0 o are lock-nuts for the collars s s.

(No model.)

p p are small rods which pass through holes pp, Fig. 5, in the rings of buffing material and into similar holes in the collars s s, and are held therein by nuts or other suitable devices. I prefer to make the cleaning portions of the buffers of rings of suitable material-such as cotton clothhaving a central hole or aperture adapted in size to the diame ter of the shaft upon which they are to be mounted.

G, D, E, and F are rollers suitably mounted on shafts with journals in the sides L L of the machine, the shafts being preferably parallel to the shafts r rof the buffers A and B. These rollers are made of or covered with rubber or other elastic material. The bearings of the rollers D and F are fixed in the sides of L L of the frame. The rollers G and E have their bearings in boxes sliding in the sides L L, and are adjusted by handscrews H H, having shouldered heads a fitting in these boxes and resting on springs in. as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The screws H H have hand-wheels at their upperends, and by means of their spring-connections with the rollers not only may be used to adjust the rollers for different thick ncsscs of plates, but also,in conjunction with the elastic surfaces of the rollers, insure the maintenance of an elastie and yielding pressure upon the plates,

avoiding all liability of breaking the plates, while at the same time tightly gripping them.

The buffing rollers A and B have their bearings in boxes sliding in the sides L L. These boxes are similar in construction to the boxes ofthe rollers O and E, and are adjusted in like manner byhand-screws G G, corresponding to the hand-screws H H. The shouldered heads a of these handscrews are fitted to 1'0- tate only in thebearing-boxes. The bearings of the upper buffing-roller are shown in Fig. 4, those of the lower buffing-roller being of identically the same construction.

As the lower rollers, D and F, have fixed bearings, it is obvious that the lower buffingroller, B, requires but little adjustment. In-

deed, this adjustment need only he sufficient to suitably vary its pressure upon a plane practically fixed in position.

a is a pulley rigidly attached to one end of the shaft 1", which carries the buffer A, and is IOC adapted to be driven by a belt, I. b is a similar pulley rigidly attached to one end of the shaft r of the buffer B, and is adapted to be driven by a belt, Z.

b is a worm which is attached to one end of the shaft 1 of the buffer B.

It and 7c are shafts supported in the journals 6, i, 2', and i, which are rigidly secured to the side L of the machine. To one end of'eaeh of these shafts is attached a worm-wheel, gg, adapted to engage with and be driven by the worm b. To the other ends of these shaft and 7c are attached the bevel gear-wheels h and it. As the axes of these worm-wheels g and g are inclined at an acute angle to the line of adjustment of the lower buffing-roller, B, and the teeth are deeply cut in the worm and wheels, the slight adjustment which may be given to the lower buffing-roller does not interfere with the proper working of the gear.

On one end ofeach of the shafts which carry the rollers D and F are rigidly attached the bevel gear-wheels (Z and f, respectively, which are adapted to gear with and be driven by the bevel gear-wheels h and h. The bevel gearwheelfis also made with ordinary or straight gear-teeth.

e is an ordinary gear-wheel fastened rigidly to the shaft which carries the roller E. It is adapted to gear with and be driven by the ordinary gear-teeth made on the bevel gearwheel f.

The table I is so arranged that when the plates are held by the rollers O and D the table I will be slightly below the plate so that there is no danger of the plate being broken by pressure against the table I. This space between the plate and the table I should be less than the thickness of the plates which are being fed into the machine, so that the plate that is next fed to the rollers will not slide under the plate already in the machine, thus avoiding the danger of the breakage of the plates, which might result if the end of one plate were pressed down upon the end of the following plate.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The buffers A and B are by the belts Z and Z set revolving, preferably in opposite direc tions, and the worm I) thus causes the rollers D, E, and F to revolve in the direction shown by the arrows, Fig. 2, through and by means of the intervening worm-wheel, g g, the shafts k k, the bevel gear-wheels h, d, h, andf, and the ordinary toothed gear-wheel, c. The plate to be cleaned is laid, with one of its edges preferably parallel to the rollers C and D, on the table I. The plate is then pushed by the operator until the roller D acts upon it and draws it between the rollers D and G, thus slightly raising it from the table I. The plate is then forced by the rollers O and D between the buffers A and B, which do the cleaning, and before the rollers G and D loose their grip on the plate the rollers E and F grip the plate, all as shown at g Fig. 2, and then the rollers E and F act to remove the plate from the buffers A and B. WVhen the plate is in the machine in the position shown at q q, Fig. 2, the next plate is laid on the table I and pushed by the operator between the rollers D and 0, so that it immediately follows the plate already in the machine.

It is obvious that the work will be accomplished whether the surface of the buffers A and B moves in the same direction with the glass or in a contrary direction; also, whether the two rollers G and D are geared together or whether one is given a positive motion and the other serves only to keep the plates in contact with the one which is geared and has a positive motion; also, whether the two rollers E and F are geared together or whether one is given a positive motion and the other serves only to keep the plates in contact with the one which is geared and has a positive motion.

The worm and worm-wheels and the bevelgearing may, if desired, be replaced by other suitable devices-such as chains or beltswithout affecting the principle of my invention.

In place of constructing the buffers in the manner shown, with rings of buffing material, any other suitable construction of the buffers may be adoptedas, for example, the cleaningsurface of the buffers may be formed by wrapping or otherwise fastening cloth or leather or other suitable material of sufficient thickness upon the surface of the buffer; but I prefer to construct my buffers in the manner already described.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by the roller E being adjustably mounted in the frame, the rollers O and E being held in bearings having a spring connected with the frame, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a machine for cleaning plates of glass or similar articles, in combination, the revolving buffers A and B, adjustably mounted in the frame of the machine, the feed-rollers O and D, having elastic bearingsurfaces, the roller 0 being adj ustably mounted in the frame, the rollers E and F, also having elastic surfaces, the roller E being adj ustably mounted in the frame, and the table I, having its upper surface slightly below the highest surface of the roller D, substantially as shown and de scribed.

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD.

\Vitnesses:

ROBERT N. KENYoN, EDWIN SEGER. 

